NHS Backlogs and waiting times

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 21 Oct 2021 Closed: 27 May 2022 Parliament page
The NHS in England was running at close to maximum capacity before the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has led to a sharp drop in routine NHS activity, resulting in more people waiting for treatment, and waiting for longer . The Committee will question the senior officials at DHSC and NHS … Read more
5 Recommendations
18 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
1 Event
Activity timeline 4 events
27 May
2022
Report published
16 Mar
2022
Report published
15 Dec
2021
Oral evidence
15 Dec
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
15 Dec 2021
View on parliament.uk
NHS Backlogs and waiting times
Amanda Pritchard · NHS England Matthew Style · Department of Health and Social Care Professor Stephen Powis · NHS England Sir Chris Wormald · Department of Health and Social Care Sir James Mackey · NHS England
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs and waiting times in England HC 747 16 Mar 2022 23 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
23 results
2 Recommendation Accepted
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
At our evidence session the Department and NHSE&I appeared unwilling to make measurable commitments about...
At our evidence session the Department and NHSE&I appeared unwilling to make measurable commitments about what new funding for elective recovery would achieve in terms of additional NHS capacity and reduced patient waiting times. NHSE&I will receive an additional £8 … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation and published the Elective Recovery Plan to eliminate waits of longer than a year for elective care by March 2025 and to have 95% of patients needing a diagnostic test receive it within six weeks by March 2025. NHSE will deliver up to 100 more community diagnostic centers across the country by 2025.
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3 Recommendation Accepted
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
The NHS will be less able to deal with backlogs if it does not address...
The NHS will be less able to deal with backlogs if it does not address longstanding workforce issues and ensure the existing workforce, including in urgent and emergency care and general practice, is well supported. NHSE&I believes it will be … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees and states that ensuring the NHS has a workforce in the right numbers and with the right skills to deliver service commitments to patients is crucial; growth of the NHS workforce continues to be a priority. It has also commissioned NHS England and Improvement and HEE to develop a Long-Term Workforce Plan to be published in due course.
HM Treasury
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4 Recommendation Accepted
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
It will be very challenging for the NHS to focus sufficiently on the needs of...
It will be very challenging for the NHS to focus sufficiently on the needs of patients when it comes to dealing with backlogs, both patients already on waiting lists and those who have avoided seeking or been unable to obtain … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation and states that better information and support for patients is a key part of the Elective Recovery Plan; NHSE&I launched the My Planned Care platform and the NHS is prioritizing diagnosis and treatment according to clinical urgency.
HM Treasury
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5 Recommendation Accepted
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
Waiting times for elective and cancer treatment are too dependent on where people live and...
Waiting times for elective and cancer treatment are too dependent on where people live and there is no national plan to address this postcode lottery. In September 2021, patients in the worst-performing geographic areas were more than twice as likely … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation and has done extensive work to model a range of scenarios to better understand the levels of ‘bounce-back’ demand, also working to establish regional and national cancer teams and a national programme to improve the treatment and care of patients.
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6 Recommendation Accepted
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
For the next few years it is likely that waiting time performance for cancer and...
For the next few years it is likely that waiting time performance for cancer and elective care will remain poor and the waiting list for elective care will continue to grow. The UK has low numbers of healthcare resources per … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation. NHS England published the Elective Recovery Plan in February 2022 which sets out a clear vision for how the NHS will recover and expand elective and cancer services over the next three years, and what patients can expect, which allows better understanding of future demand.
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1 Conclusion
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department of Health and Social Care (the Department) and NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) about the backlogs and waiting times for elective … Read more
HM Treasury
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7 Conclusion Acknowledged
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
But plans are only one part of the explanation for deteriorating performance.
But plans are only one part of the explanation for deteriorating performance. This Committee’s June 2019 report NHS waiting times for elective and cancer treatment concluded that the Department had allowed NHS England to be selective about which standards it … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation, noting the mandate to NHS England sets out the strategic goals that the government has set for NHS England in the year ahead, including objectives on recovery of wider NHS services impacted by the pandemic, and on further delivery of the NHS Long Term Plan.
HM Treasury
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8 Conclusion
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
The C&AG’s Report included two plausible scenarios under which the waiting list will be even...
The C&AG’s Report included two plausible scenarios under which the waiting list will be even longer in 2025 than it was in 2021. One of these scenarios assumed that the NHS would achieve the 30% increase in activity that is … Read more
HM Treasury
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9 Conclusion Acknowledged
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
We sought reassurance that all additional funding would be well spent and asked for examples...
We sought reassurance that all additional funding would be well spent and asked for examples of the measurable improvements that we could reasonably expect to see. We heard generally from the Department that with the additional £8 billion recovery funding … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation and published the Elective Recovery Plan which sets out the goals for tackling the elective care and cancer backlogs over the course of the next 3 years. The government plans to eliminate waits of longer than a year for elective care by March 2025, and to have 95% of patients needing a diagnostic test receive it within six weeks by March 2025.
HM Treasury
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10 Conclusion
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
Between 2010 and 2019 the NHS saw an average annual growth in emergency admissions of...
Between 2010 and 2019 the NHS saw an average annual growth in emergency admissions of more than 3% and in urgent cancer referrals from GPs of more than 10%. Although there was relatively strong growth in the number of consultants … Read more
HM Treasury
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11 Conclusion
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
The very large numbers of people who have not presented for healthcare, or were not...
The very large numbers of people who have not presented for healthcare, or were not able to obtain it, during the pandemic, as well as those who have already been on waiting lists for long periods of time present a … Read more
HM Treasury
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12 Conclusion
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
The University of Manchester’s Voices of COVID-19 project has interviewed over 2,000 NHS staff to...
The University of Manchester’s Voices of COVID-19 project has interviewed over 2,000 NHS staff to provide a national collection of testimonies in partnership with the British Library. This evidence highlights the concerns of frontline NHS staff regarding the public dissatisfaction … Read more
HM Treasury
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13 Conclusion
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
This Committee’s September 2020 report, NHS nursing workforce, concluded that there was a risk that...
This Committee’s September 2020 report, NHS nursing workforce, concluded that there was a risk that the NHS was focusing on short-term pressures at the expense of the 23 C&AG’s Report, page 30 24 Qq 69, 75 25 NHS0043 NHS Providers … Read more
HM Treasury
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14 Conclusion
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
The Department and NHSE&I are now managing a large, growing and diverse set of challenges...
The Department and NHSE&I are now managing a large, growing and diverse set of challenges to elective and cancer care on top of the ongoing pandemic. We asked how the Department and NHSE&I expected the accelerated and expanded vaccine booster … Read more
HM Treasury
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15 Conclusion
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
The number of missing referrals and the size of the waiting list make for a...
The number of missing referrals and the size of the waiting list make for a daunting situation when it comes to the needs of patients. Thinking about the recent changes to GPs’ workload to allow them to focus on booster … Read more
HM Treasury
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16 Conclusion
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
There are 6 million people on the waiting list for elective care.36 NHSE&I told us...
There are 6 million people on the waiting list for elective care.36 NHSE&I told us it intends to focus on those with the highest clinical need and priority, and especially in the immediate period, those who have waited the longest … Read more
HM Treasury
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17 Conclusion
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
We asked about how patients other than the longest waiters and those with the highest...
We asked about how patients other than the longest waiters and those with the highest clinical priority would be supported while they waited. NHSE&I stated that GPs had a role in managing these patients and that it was also asking … Read more
HM Treasury
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18 Conclusion
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
In September 2021, patients in the worst-performing of NHSE&I’s 42 geographic areas of England were...
In September 2021, patients in the worst-performing of NHSE&I’s 42 geographic areas of England were more than twice as likely as patients in the best-performing areas to have been waiting over 18 weeks for elective care. Patients were also more … Read more
HM Treasury
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19 Conclusion
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
We asked NHSE&I to explain these disparities.
We asked NHSE&I to explain these disparities. It told us that the COVID-19 pandemic had had a differential effect across the country and that the differences reflected where the NHS had most diagnostic capacity and skilled workforce compared with where … Read more
HM Treasury
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20 Conclusion
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
We asked about very long-waiters in different areas and what action NHSE&I was taking to...
We asked about very long-waiters in different areas and what action NHSE&I was taking to reduce them. It told us that all areas had had the same expectation placed upon them, to attempt to reduce the number of patients who … Read more
HM Treasury
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21 Conclusion
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
Among comparable OECD countries the UK has relatively low numbers of hospital beds, nurses and...
Among comparable OECD countries the UK has relatively low numbers of hospital beds, nurses and doctors per 1,000 population and also carries out relatively low numbers of advanced diagnostic examinations.46 NHSE&I told us that it would take two to three … Read more
HM Treasury
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22 Conclusion
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
We considered whether officials were planning on the basis of realistic assessments of future demand...
We considered whether officials were planning on the basis of realistic assessments of future demand for healthcare or whether they were being too optimistic. NHSE&I told us that there was lots of risk and uncertainty in the NHS at present … Read more
HM Treasury
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23 Conclusion Acknowledged
Forty-Fourth Report - NHS backlogs…
NHSE&I emphasised the flexibility of the NHS workforce, as evidenced throughout the pandemic.
NHSE&I emphasised the flexibility of the NHS workforce, as evidenced throughout the pandemic. It said that this workforce flexibility now needed to continue as part of transforming the NHS for the future and recovering elective and cancer care.51 In written … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees that ensuring that the NHS has a workforce in the right numbers and with the right skills to deliver service commitments to patients is crucial and is already expanding the size of the workforce, aligning workforce planning with service and financial planning and looking at the long-term strategic drivers of workforce demand and supply.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 8 of 5 classified
Accepted 5
Acknowledged 3
Total 5 recs + 18 conclusions